The Not Proposal
by stay4ever
Summary: Rin is officially at that point in life where all of her friends are getting engaged. One day when Sesshomaru changes their daily routine, she can't help but feel like now's her time too. (AU)


I do not own anything of Inuyasha or the characters. Enjoy!

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Rin sighed as she stared down at her phone looking at the picture that an old high school acquaintance had posted on their social media account. It pictured her old friend with her arms around a man while showing off her left hand. More importantly, showing off what now sat on her ring finger of said hand. It was just one of many pictures that had been popping up for the last year now.

She had taken a break from cleaning the apartment and decided to relax on the couch while scrolling endlessly through all of her social media accounts after checking her email. She knew in the back of her mind that she should have kept cleaning so hopefully the 'stench' of the cleaning supplies didn't linger around the apartment. Sesshomaru's nose didn't take keenly to the scent of bleach and pine scented cleaner. Unfortunately from him, they didn't make unscented bleach and unfortunately for her that meant she could really only scrub the apartment down when he was at work. With another sigh, she stood and resumed cleaning the rest of the kitchen. She drained all the bleach from kitchen sink and let the water run to hopefully kill the scent a bit.

She hummed along while she finished up before turning the sink off. Since the weather was getting nice and warmer she decided to open the door that led to the little balcony attached to their apartment. She closed the screen so no bugs would come in and leaned against the frame a bit. The weather changing was lifting her sprits and making her forget all about her old high school friend who now had a ring on her hand. Hadn't she seen something that they had only been seeing each other for a year? A year and she already had a ring.

Okay, weather be dammed. Rin was thinking about her old high school pal and was once again incredibly aware how bare her own ring finger was. People she knew had met their significant others and were engaged within the year. She blew a piece of hair that fell in front of her vision away from her face in a huff. She'd been 'officially' dating Sesshomaru for about five years and she'd known him for six when they met at university while she was only in her second year. He was a year above her and finally after a year, let his guard down enough for her to breakthrough and capture his heart. Granted, he would probably never voice such a thing but she knew. He eventually, and boy did it feel like forever, voiced his emotions to her claiming that he did in fact love her with all he had. She knew it was one of those once in a lifetime chances that she'd ever hear him say so many sweet things at once but she didn't really need to hear it. She could read him like nobody else and she knew that he adored her. She loved him just as he was, taciturn personality and all. She loved him, ring or no ring…though a ring would be nice.

Her phone buzzing with a text on the small kitchen table they had pulled her from her thoughts. She pushed off the doorframe of the balcony and picked up her phone to see a text from the man who'd been occupying her thoughts moments before.

"Don't cook tonight", was all it read. She raised an eyebrow. Usually she started dinner about twenty minutes before she knew he'd be home since her work hours weren't nearly as demanding as his. She was more surprised that he texted her rather than just calling her. She thought about what he had in mind. If he had plans to go out she'd want a heads up so she had time to get ready. She texted back asking what they were doing and put her phone back down, not expecting a response for a few hours.

She went back about her day of putting all the cleaning supplies away and opening a few windows to get the air moving through the apartment. She continued to hum along to the music playing on the radio but overall she was bored. She still had a few hours before Sesshomaru got home from work, and probably another hour or two until he decided to text back, she thought with a tiny giggle. She could look at some things for work on her laptop but it was her day off so that didn't sound appealing at all. She sat in the middle of the couch looking around trying to think of something to occupy her time. She thought about calling a friend to see if they wanted to get together but thought against it. She didn't want to get tied up with a friend if Sesshomaru had plans.

She got up and made her way to her closet to start thinking about what to wear. Only after staring at all of her clothes, she realized she had no idea what they were even doing tonight. She went back to the kitchen table deciding to just call her boyfriend.

"Rin." He answered after two rings.

"Maru." She playfully rolled her eyes at the lack of a greeting. "What are we doing tonight?" She asked while heading back to her closet.

"Nothing", was his only response.

"Nothing? You told me not to cook though." She half pouted. "Here I am, standing in the closet thinking of what to wear and we aren't even doing anything?"

"I was simply going to grab something to bring home." He explained and she slumped against the side of the closet doorframe.

"Okay." She tried not to sound so deflated but even through the phone he knew all of emotions.

"Is that not what you wanted?" He asked and she pushed off the frame to head back out to the living room.

"No! No! It's perfect. It's so nice out maybe we could even eat out on the balcony. Oh, how about you get the food and I'll go grab us a bottle of wine or something! It can be a date night." Suddenly the idea of having dinner on the balcony sounded beyond perfect. She could very faintly here him chuckling on the phone, or at least as close to a chuckle as Sesshomaru could get.

"I'll be home around six." Was all he said before he hung up.

Rin knew she was going to be incredibly antsy until then. She decided to go grab the wine now just to keep herself busy for a bit. She locked the balcony door but decided to leave the windows open because it still smelled like bleach in the apartment.

She moseyed around the liquor store for probably longer than necessary but she needed to stay busy. She finally climbed back into her car with two bottles of wine after the man behind the counter started giving her weird looks. As she was waiting to back out of the parking space she looked at her nails. The light pink nail polish she put on over a week ago was already chipped and falling off. Usually she wasn't one to spend money on the luxury but decided to get her nails done, again just to keep her mind busy.

After, she killed a little over an hour and had a nice springy orange color on her nails she finally headed back to the apartment. After putting the wine away she decided she would shower and get ready for a date night even though they weren't going anywhere. She ended up just wearing her comfortable clothes, which defeated the purpose, but at least her hair looked cleaner.

Sesshomaru parked his car, glad to be home, and grabbed the bag of food that sat on the passenger seat. Work had been extra painful today because of all the incompetent people that worked around him. He hadn't even finished all he wanted to because he couldn't take it anymore.

The phone call with Rin was also a reason he was dying to leave his office. She had seem to deflate at first to learn that they weren't actually going anywhere but her excitement levels spiked just like he knew they would once she started thinking about having a night in. As soon as she mentioned grabbing wine and making it a date he knew his awful day was going to be worth it, in the end. When he finally unlocked the door to the apartment, not to his surprise, Rin sat smiling at him while leaning over the back of the couch. Instantly his nose twitched at the smell of cleaning supplies and he frowned. _Bleach_ , he scowled. Clearly she decided to clean the apartment today.

Rin watched his face twist into a frown and she knew his nose was probably getting wind of the bleach. She jumped off the couch and made her way towards him.

"I'm sorry. I cleaned earlier this morning. I tried opening all the windows to clear it out a little." She glanced down at the bag he was holding wondering what he got. He didn't say anything, but instead grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

"Hi." She smiled up at him and instantly wrapped her arms around his waist. He leaned down to give her a sweet kiss before she pulled back and grabbed the bag from his hands. He was tempted to roll her eyes. Of course her focus was on the food.

"What'd you get?" She asked as she opened it and dug around. "Oh! You got sushi!" She almost started drooling. It was from her favorite place too. "We haven't had this in a long time!" She was so excited that it made him happy.

She brought the bag to the kitchen with her and he loosened his tie and rolled his neck out a bit. He followed her into the small kitchen and watched her pull everything out of the bag to set on the counter.

"So what do you think about eating outside?" She asked. She mentioned it earlier but he never gave an answer and she honestly had no idea if he would be up for it or not. It was a bit chillier than earlier but still not too bad.

"Hn." He gave the smallest shrug and made his way to their bedroom to change.

"Okay then!" She smiled at him. How she was able to read him so well was beyond him. He made note of her casual appearance and decided to dress similarly. He threw on a pair of jeans and a plain colored t-shirt. He looked around for a sweater but was failing on finding one. He glanced over at Rin's side of the closet and sure enough there were a few in a pile on a mini shelf she had. Naturally she held all of his sweaters captive. He grabbed one and threw it over his shirt and made his way back out to see her putting plates on the small table they had on the balcony that only sat two.

"I don't think I've seen you in such casual attire in a while." She smiled at him as she made her way back to the kitchen. "Want to open the wine?" She called and he followed her. He grabbed two glasses in one hand and the open bottle and followed her out. She was placing all the food out and while he was enjoying his evening already he could still feel his nose burning at the scent of bleach. He went back inside and grabbed two candles that he didn't actually mind with a lighter and brought them out with them to hopefully clear his nose. He'd rather smell burning anything than the monstrosity that was bleach.

"How romantic." She giggled and sat down. He reached for her glass and poured her some wine before reaching for his own. She started pilling on some of the roll that he knew she absolutely loved onto her plate before reaching over to what he bought for himself and nagging a few pieces. He glared at her without any malice but she just shot him one of her million dollar smiles that could send any man to his knees and continued to put it on her plate. _She really is something else_ , he thought.

"What made you grab this?" She asked as she poured some soy sauce on her plate.

"Am I not allowed to bring dinner home every now and then?" He asked back. She smiled and shoved a piece in her mouth. She let out a very small moan that he might now have picked up on if he didn't have demon hearing and he was suddenly very pleased with his decision.

She was right about wanting to eat outside. Since both of them had a sweater on they were both perfectly content and they were the only ones out on their balcony on their side of the building. The candles were actually helping clear his senses out a bit and he reached over to fill his own plate, copying her method of stealing a few of her pieces.

They made small talk about each other's day and she apologized for the bleach again but he waved her off. He'd rather have a clean apartment with a few nose hairs burned off than a dirty one. He was suddenly incredibly grateful for all she did. She cleaned, cooked, and anytime he needed anything done she was more than willing to do it for him. While she chattered on about her trip to the liquor store he was incredibly aware of what a perfect wife she would be. He started to daydream about what she would be like with kids. His kids.

"…Then I decided to get my nails done. I know you aren't going to say anything but aren't they pretty? I thought it was a nice spring color." She snapped him out of his thoughts as she held her left hand across the table. He glanced down not really caring about the now peach color of her nails and picked up her hand. He placed a light kiss on the inside of her wrist and was pleased that after years of dating he was still able to get a blush out of her. For a moment he let his mind wander to the possibilities that the evening would bring.

"Rin." His voice was slightly husky. He still held her hand. He watched her eyes widen a bit. "You're my everything." He whispered into her wrist again while placing another kiss there. He noted that her heart rate spiked. Granted, this wouldn't be the first time he's excited her and made her heart rate increase but it was the increased heart rate along with the slight panic he was sensing that he was questioning. Why was she panicking?

"Rin." He said again only a little more sternly. Her eyes were still a little wide. She finally let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and let out a little laugh. Her imagination was getting out of hand. For a split second she thought he was actually going to do it. She thought he was potentially going to propose. Her favorite food, candles, a causal night…it was all perfect. _Too perfect,_ her mind bitterly mumbled to her.

He watched carefully as her panic subsided and she relaxed a bit more. What the hell was that about? He thought carefully as he let go of her hand, putting in the back of his head that he did actually find the color on her nails fitting of her personality, what could have set her off like that? He held her in an intense stare. She guessed he was wondering what put her in a state of shock for a moment. She prayed he wouldn't bring it up.

"I love you." She smiled at him hoping to put his attention elsewhere. Who was she kidding? Like that would work…

He raised an eyebrow at her mood swings. "You were panicking." It wasn't a question.

"No, Maru." She sighed and went back to pocking at a roll of sushi on her plate. She looked up at him again and he still had that intense stare, like he was trying to figure out what was going on. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

How embarrassing. The stupid couple she saw on her social media getting engaged put the stupid idea in her head and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. Of course she was going to get all excited when he surprised her with favorite food and then said such sweet things. He never said things like that on a whim!

He remained silent. She thought of anything that would switch the direction of what this upcoming conversation was going to entail.

"Rin." She sighed heavily. He didn't like secrets and she was drawing a blank on anything she could say to divert his attention.

"I thought that was going somewhere else, okay?" She huffed out, no longer hungry. He blinked. She hardly ever got worked up enough to snap and now his curiosity was at its peak. Just what the hell had her going mad? She thought it was going somewhere else?

He thought through all the scenarios she could have possibly dreamed up before one really stuck with him. She thought he was proposing. Suddenly it clicked in his head. He really could not fight the ghost of a smile that was crossing his face, no matter how hard he tried to compose it. Apparently that only made her mood sourer because she was really glaring at him.

"I'm glad you find humor in this." She sat back and crossed her arms before quickly uncrossing them and reaching for her glass of wine. He couldn't help be amused at her flustered state. She took a big sip and turned her head to look out at the scenery their apartment backed.

The more the silence ticked on and on the more she felt her eyes watering. Why was she getting so emotional over this? As soon as his nose picked up on the salt water, and to be fair he didn't even need his nose he could just tell she was on the verge of tears, he knew he shouldn't be teasing her over such a matter.

"Rin." He spoke but she didn't turn her head. She only took another large sip, almost emptying her glass. "Rin, look at me." She finally turned her head and her watery eyes met his.

"I'm not proposing tonight." He told her and her eyes narrowed at him just slightly before she turned and looked back away from him. He sighed and stood up. Despite the balcony not being all that large he shimmied past the table and grabbed the arm of her chair and pulled it sideways so she was facing him now. He leaned down and placed his other hand on the opposite arm of the chair and bent down so his face was at the same level as hers.

"I am not proposing tonight." He repeated. "I'm not proposing tonight because I don't have a ring yet, and what's a proposal without a ring?" He finished. He watched her eyes go from hurt and narrowed at him to confused.

"Yet?" She question. He wanted to laugh. Of course that was the only word she picked up on.

"Rin, I am going to marry you someday. I promise you that." That's all he could say. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead before standing up straight. He picked up a piece of sushi off her plate with his hand and popped it in his mouth.

She was baffled to say the least. So it wasn't a proposal but it was a promise of a proposal. Soon? And isn't that was a proposal was to begin with… the promise of a marriage? She was so confused. He made his way to sit back down and took a sip of his own wine.

"So…soon?" She cautioned.

"Soon." He nodded.

"I can do that. I can do soon." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding again. He reached over for the wine bottle and poured more into her glass since she had practically chugged hers in an unnerved state.

They sat in silence before Rin pulled her chair forward towards the table in haste and leaned forward. "Have you started looking at rings?" She questioned. He was slightly taken back but he wasn't about to let it show. Did he want to ruin it for her? He very quickly weighed the pros and cons of spoiling everything for her but decided that their relationship wasn't very conventional in the long run so why not do it the way Rin and Sesshomaru have been doing it since they got together? Unconventionally.

"Yes." He answered and took another sip of wine.

"Do you have any idea what you're going to get? Cuts? Carats? Anything?" She threw at him. She was really taking this whole 'soon' promise and running with it, he thought.

"That's all you're getting." He told her and took another bite of his food. He could feel the frustration rolling off her in waves. Again, he found it slightly humorous. He watched her pick her glass up again only this time she took a small sip. He made note of her nails again.

"Did you get your nails done because you thought I was proposing?" He had to ask. She hardly ever went and actually got her nails done. She glanced down to look at the orange-y color that her nails were now painted and laughed.

She shook her head, "No. I actually was just trying to kill time today and thought it would take up a decent amount." She was examining her nails now. "Now that you mention it though, I wouldn't mind a heads up so my nails do look good whenever you get around to 'soon'." She told him and he gave her a small smirk.

"Sure. _A warning_." He teased, like he was actually going to warn her beforehand. "Are you done?" He gestured towards he plate and she nodded.

They both made to clean up the small table outside. Once all the plates were cleared and all the trash was thrown away he went back out to blow out the candles that were close to dead and brought them in. He closed the real door to the balcony behind him, glad that the apartment no longer smelled like cleaning supplies.

"We should have got something for dessert." She commented as she put the dishes in the dishwasher. She closed it and stood up, taking note that he was just leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a rare smile across his face as he watched her.

He pushed off the wall and made his way towards her grabbing her by the hips and pulling her close to him.

"I can think of a form of dessert I wouldn't mind right now." He leaned down and placed his lips against her neck. Naturally her head turned to give him better access. She giggled and pushed him back a bit.

"Well that dessert will taste better in bed." She continued to push him back towards their bedroom. He let her push him a bit before he just reached down and picked her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. She let out a small scream followed by a stream of giggles.

She was glad her nerves had been cleared a bit and that Sesshomaru was in a playful mood, which only happened once in a blue moon. For now, she wouldn't have things going any other way. She decided that she shouldn't try and push it. If he said soon then she could wait. There was nobody else she would rather wait for.

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Goodness! One and a half bottles of wine later, here's my first fic on FF since 2011! Holy cow. Granted I've read who knows how many stories on here since then but still! Whoohoooo!

Anyway, this (in my opinion) cute little oneshot came to mind while a friend of mine and I were talking about weddings and I'm a sucker for a good SxR story.

Please feel free to leave a review! Hope this story made you Sesshomaru/Rin lovers feel a little happiness.

Cheers, mates!


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